Am I the first person who has noticed this? How old is this? Ben Stein at the Missouri State Capitol with Representative Jane Cunningham who is apparently trying to push Intelligent Design into public schools.

Fundamentalist Myth based Conservative Ideology and Identity Politics both require the removal of any objective truth test AKA Darwinism or the scientific method and their replacement of that by subjective propaganda to usher in their Brave New World.

Someday, perhaps, it will be possible to look back on "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" as a relic and reminder of the rhetorical logic employed during the era of George W. Bush. Until then, it should be seen simply as a tiresome ideological bludgeon, an attempt to deceive audiences into believing it is one thing when it is, in fact, quite another.

Entertainer, pitchman and political commentator Ben Stein begins the film by intoning that there is a growing conspiracy within the academic and scientific communities blocking out proponents of "intelligent design" as a means to explain the origins of life and human development in favor of lock step enforcement of Darwinist theories of evolution. By setting the argument up in this way, one which is never fully pursued or proven, Stein has, of course, attempted to utilize a textbook Karl Rove-ian tactic to "reframe" the discussion, putting it in terms by which his side seems the valiant underdog, suppressed and belittled by its opponent, while turning notions of right and wrong, freedom of speech and even the meaning of science upside down.

A movie review is, of course, not really the forum for debating the ins, outs and what-have-yous of intelligent design, but it certainly can be said here that if a film like "Expelled" is meant to be the vanguard action for turning public opinion, the movement has a long, long road ahead.

Stinkeroo.

--------------Which came first: the shimmy, or the hip?

AtBC Poet Laureate

"I happen to think that this prerequisite criterion of empirical evidence is itself not empirical." - Clive

Is it me or is Ben Stein keeping an awfully low profile since the movie was released? I haven't hear a peep from him in days. One of the last interviews I read he was talking about how some of the early reviews had been "personally hurtful". That made me laff.

As always, truth is multi-faceted. If you look at their goal of 2-3 million, then yes, Expelled is a success. Ditto for the "political documentary" category, a small niche of less than 100 films. Critically, and in real numbers, the film is a stinkeroo.

I don't think Stein is going to benefit from this project and I stand by my "box office poison" statement. This film is marred by too many scandals and headaches for the typical studio to want to employ Stein again.

But who knows? Creationism sells in America. Everyone knows that. So what do Chris and Randy want to do about that? I debated my father for years and nothing was going to change his mind. What do they suggest, then? All I read is criticisms from them.

Wintermute hit the nail on the head:

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If all publicity is good publicity, and PZ and Dawkins are only promoting Expelled, shouldn't we be thanking Ben Stein for doing so much to promote evolution? Shouldn't we be glad that they are spreading the word so far and wide?

I have this weird sense of relief that Expelled got made, especially with its attendant scandals and hypocrisy. The fight isn't over, but somebody sure ain't taking the high road.

Yes, exactly. Other people made the same point as I, only better, and it seems Chris and randy are being both defeatist and rather silly. What would count as a win against "Expelled"? Even if the entire production team stood up and swore on the bible that they had set out to smear Evolution as much as they could for their own religious ends, and had lied to everyone in interviews deliberately to get the interviews, and the film makers were sued into extinction for copyright breaking, most of their intended audience would still applaud the film.

There is a fundie market out there, and they want things that 'confirm' the bible. Look how long the various long debunked creationist canards have been out there, yet still we see them every week. This is because they are repeated in Church every Sunday. Creationists know that education is their enemy, which is precisely why they choose to attack it with films like this.

No amount of homo-sex-scandles, kiddy fiddling, leader-fleeces the flock scandals seems to put them off. They are unthinking and want to ensure there kids remain the same.

If you want to reframe this discussion, why not start calling this a "chick [Jack Chick] film"?Why not sarcastically repeat, "Evolution almost killed Ben Stein's dad!" Okay, two suggestions on the table. Let's do something.

Good grief, the news from Hollywood is that Expelled is looking more mangled than Michael Jackson’s face. Ohh, this isn’t looking good – National Review’s John Derbyshire weighs in. We know what a friend to creationism he is!

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Win Ben Stein's Money [John Derbyshire]The National Council for Science Education's Expelled Exposed website is running a competition in which you can win fabulous prizes by pointing out errors in Ben Stein's silly movie (errors, that is, in addition to the dozens already logged on that site).Meanwhile, for all you guilt-by-association fans, here are some fervent anti-Darwinists on parade. None of that beastly, God-denying science'n'rationalism stuff for these bold lads!

And $3 million in tickets were sold to people who probably haven't been to a movie since The Cash-in of the Mel, a few years back. But Expelled? Mark it "absent." Over 1,000 screens, less than $3,000 per screen, lotsa hype from the pulpit, and America didn't buy it. Americans don't go to documentaries unless they're made by Michael Moore and Christian conservatives are not known to be big Discovery Channel/PBS Nova viewers. Thus, a perfect "yawn."

If numbers are any indication, Ben Stein has shown he's no Michael Moore.Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, a documentary which makes an argument for intelligent design over the theory of evolution, debuted at just number eight among the top ten grossing movies last week.The film made $1.2 million on Friday in 1,052 theaters. By comparison, Michael Moore's 'Sicko' raken in $23.9 million its opening weekend from just 441 theaters, and Fahrenheit 9/11 did $23.9 million from only 868 slots."Playing in 1,052 theaters, the pic distributed by Rocky Mountain Pictures earned $1.2M Friday for what should be a $3.4M weekend," penned Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily. "But the per screen average for Friday was a feeble $1,130 (that $3,000 ballyhooed on the Internet would be for the entire weekend), showing there wasn't any pent-up demand for the film despite an aggressive publicity campaign. So much for the conservative argument that people would flock to films not representing the "agenda of liberal Hollywood.'"

Okay, now the reviews are starting to link to Expelled Exposed. Take that, Chris and Randy.

All the loaded references to Stalin, communism et al. reminded me of Khrushchev's famous challenge to the West, "We will bury you," meaning that communism would use the very precepts of Western democracy and capitalism to weaken and break us. Stein and friends use scientists' need to speak in terms of probabilities, rather than absolutes, to undercut a scientific theorem that withstands test after test, from Darwin to the Scopes Monkey Trial.

And the reframing gets just brutal:

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Shockingly, the "experts" Stein hurls up against evolution are disgruntled, under-credentialed academics dismissed from lesser colleges, they say, because they wanted to teach creation rather than science. Other "experts" in the film come from anti-evolution "think tank" cranks and a Pole who invites nothing so much as a really good Polish joke.

Holy crap, can an opening for a film suck any more than this?

I’m not worried. (Did I mention that Expelled sucks?)

--------------Which came first: the shimmy, or the hip?

AtBC Poet Laureate

"I happen to think that this prerequisite criterion of empirical evidence is itself not empirical." - Clive

One scientist in particular, biologist Richard Sternberg, has become a cause célèbre following his dismissal from the Smithsonian Institution, where he was a fellow until he allowed a peer-reviewed article on ID to be published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.

I already sent Rex a request for a correction to this particular statement. His email address is in the "contact us" section, if anyone else cares to enlighten him.

--------------

Quote (afdave @ Oct. 02 2006,18:37)

Many Jews were in comfortable oblivion about Hitler ... until it was too late.Many scientists will persist in comfortable oblivion about their Creator ... until it is too late.

To put it plainly, I've come to the realization that creationism is successful because there is a built-in audience for it, not because creationists are especially effective communicators.

Nice summary by Brian Switek.

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I imagine that Expelled will ultimately do better on the DVD circuit than in theaters, being a staple of creationist websites and Christian book stores, although how quickly it fades from theaters will remain to be seen. From what I can see, however, the film is a flop and did not receive anywhere near the attention the filmmakers were hoping for. They advertised the hell out of the film (there was not a day that went by when I didn't see at least two Expelled advertisements on the internet on a variety of websites, including rottentomatoes.com), but it seems that the main audience that went to see it were people who already agreed with it or wanted to see just how bad it really was. Unless there's a huge number of churches that have reserved theaters for the second week, I think it's all downhill from here for Expelled.

--------------Which came first: the shimmy, or the hip?

AtBC Poet Laureate

"I happen to think that this prerequisite criterion of empirical evidence is itself not empirical." - Clive

Mike Edmondson has owned up. He made the the "Beware the Believers" movie. And has this sequel.

I was right? Praise Jesus! After I fingered him as a suspect on ERV's blog, a lot of people considered it all but certain, but I wasn't going to be satisfied until and if he actually took the credit. I'm weird that way: I actually like irrefutable evidence.

--------------I wouldn't be bothered reading about the selfish gene because it has never been identified. -- Denyse O'Leary, professional moronAgain "how much". I don't think that's a good way to be quantitative.-- gpuccio

After I fingered him ... on ERV's blog...I wasn't going to be satisfied...I'm weird that way...

:)

Son of bitch....walked, nay sprinted, into that one.

--------------I wouldn't be bothered reading about the selfish gene because it has never been identified. -- Denyse O'Leary, professional moronAgain "how much". I don't think that's a good way to be quantitative.-- gpuccio

One scientist in particular, biologist Richard Sternberg, has become a cause célèbre following his dismissal from the Smithsonian Institution, where he was a fellow until he allowed a peer-reviewed article on ID to be published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.

I already sent Rex a request for a correction to this particular statement. His email address is in the "contact us" section, if anyone else cares to enlighten him.

Update - Roberts already replied to me with a short but very courteous response. He thanked me, and said he would change the review to say something to the effect that Sternberg "resigned under duress". So I sent him a response explaining that Sternberg was never an employee, and using the term "resigned" would likely give a false impression that he was.

Hopefully Roberts will update his review accordingly.

--------------

Quote (afdave @ Oct. 02 2006,18:37)

Many Jews were in comfortable oblivion about Hitler ... until it was too late.Many scientists will persist in comfortable oblivion about their Creator ... until it is too late.

--------------I wouldn't be bothered reading about the selfish gene because it has never been identified. -- Denyse O'Leary, professional moronAgain "how much". I don't think that's a good way to be quantitative.-- gpuccio

You think the following statement from the AAAS is going to help heal the chasm in our society over evolution and ID*?

Oh, so that's what Expelled is really about: healing the rift between Science and Faith. All that stuff on Nazi's and Academic Freedom is just a sideline. Really, what matters is that the two camps need to come together....like at an intersection or, what's the word I'm looking for? Crossroads?

Hey, WAD: fill your own chasm.

--------------I wouldn't be bothered reading about the selfish gene because it has never been identified. -- Denyse O'Leary, professional moronAgain "how much". I don't think that's a good way to be quantitative.-- gpuccio

One scientist in particular, biologist Richard Sternberg, has become a cause célèbre following his dismissal from the Smithsonian Institution, where he was a fellow until he allowed a peer-reviewed article on ID to be published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.

I already sent Rex a request for a correction to this particular statement. His email address is in the "contact us" section, if anyone else cares to enlighten him.

Update - Roberts already replied to me with a short but very courteous response. He thanked me, and said he would change the review to say something to the effect that Sternberg "resigned under duress". So I sent him a response explaining that Sternberg was never an employee, and using the term "resigned" would likely give a false impression that he was.

Hopefully Roberts will update his review accordingly.

Still muddled, but I suppose it's an improvement:

Quote

One scientist in particular, biologist Richard Sternberg, has become a cause célèbre following his his resignation, he claims under duress, from the Smithsonian Institution, where as a research fellow and managing editor of the Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, he published a peer-reviewed article on ID.

--------------

Quote (afdave @ Oct. 02 2006,18:37)

Many Jews were in comfortable oblivion about Hitler ... until it was too late.Many scientists will persist in comfortable oblivion about their Creator ... until it is too late.

You think the following statement from the AAAS is going to help heal the chasm in our society over evolution and ID*?

Oh, so that's what Expelled is really about: healing the rift between Science and Faith. All that stuff on Nazi's and Academic Freedom is just a sideline. Really, what matters is that the two camps need to come together....like at an intersection or, what's the word I'm looking for? Crossroads?

Hey, WAD: fill your own chasm.

So WAD wants me to believe in God. Fine. I wish he and Ben Stein et al would come out and say it.

Quit trying to trick me with intelligent design and all that crap. But they have to guarantee a "win."

The real problem is, even if I were to believe in a god, I wouldn’t believe in the “right” one to satisfy them. I would still accept evolution as both a theory and a fact, and while religion makes a belief in the afterlife possible, I would still think that it has nothing whatsoever to do with what you think inside your head (i.e., no hell). I wouldn’t fit in at SWTS. I wouldn’t be a global warming denier. Well, that's not good enough for them, either.

So WAD is fighting two battles – against atheists, and against believers who don’t fudge the science (and we already know this). But my point is, WAD should be talking about these two “chasms” at the very least, then. But in fact, he and his friends are waging a War Against Everything—science, education, the “liberal” media, Hollywood, the best seller list, the art world, the music world, potential film audiences, belly dancers, etc. My point is: Who expelled whom? He can rejoin reality any time he wants to for pity’s sake! Once he and Ftk and Kevin & Co. stop going around pushing doors marked “Pull” on this desert isle that they themselves have exiled themselves to, that is.

Nobody kicked them out of the sandbox but themselves, so it's no one else's fault that their battles are multiplying. Yeah, go have a bad day on your kid's birthday about this crap! (It's not like I think that evolution is ever going to thank me for all my much speaking on its behalf.)

Someone at my blog said, "This is much ado about nothing" - and really, it is. (It's been a fun nothing, though.)

--------------Which came first: the shimmy, or the hip?

AtBC Poet Laureate

"I happen to think that this prerequisite criterion of empirical evidence is itself not empirical." - Clive

You think the following statement from the AAAS is going to help heal the chasm in our society over evolution and ID*?

Oh, so that's what Expelled is really about: healing the rift between Science and Faith. All that stuff on Nazi's and Academic Freedom is just a sideline. Really, what matters is that the two camps need to come together....like at an intersection or, what's the word I'm looking for? Crossroads?

Hey, WAD: fill your own chasm.

--------------"Rich is just mad because he thought all titties had fur on them until last week when a shorn transvestite ruined his childhood dreams by jumping out of a spider man cake and man boobing him in the face lips." - Erasmus